Barnes sentenced for meth in Murfreesboro
The Warren County man who became the first person ever arrested in Murfreesboro with a meth lab was given an 8-year sentence this week.
The defendant, William Jacob Barnes, 23, was burned last December when the lab inside his apartment on Northfield Boulevard in Murfreesboro exploded. Barnes was arrested following the explosion eight months ago. He entered a guilty plea to charges of manufacture of meth and was issued the sentence Monday by Circuit Court Judge John Ash in Murfreesboro.
During sentencing, prosecutors said 10 to 15 regular customers purchased meth from the Warren County native, profits which Barnes used to feed his own addiction to the drug. Barnes told the court he had been using the drug since he was 18 after being turned on to the illegal narcotic by a friend. He refused to give the friend’s name, saying it “wasn’t worth getting shot over.”
Barnes further said it cost him about $400 to make a batch of meth and that he would sell half his batch for about $2,000, keeping the rest for personal use.
The defense had hoped to get a lighter sentence for Barnes, presenting letters from Sheriff Jackie Matheny, McMinnville Police Chief Joe Melton and Public Defender Dan Bryant, attesting to Barnes’ good family and his good conduct during his childhood.
“Before he got involved in drugs, Jacob was a fine citizen, a great kid to coach in sports as well as a good student in school,” Matheny wrote in the letter to the court. “I’m saddened he has got involved in drug use as well as manufacturing.”
Matheny noted, when asked about the letter, that he sent it at the request of Barnes’ parents, Jimmy and Susan Barnes. Both parents told the court they did not condone their son’s actions and that his actions had turned the family upside down. Matheny said the letter was meant for background purposes, regarding Barnes’ childhood, and was not intended as an attempt to soften the sentence against Barnes.
Chief Melton, in his letter to the court, said he has known Barnes family for a long time and that he always regarded the defendant as “a fine young man.”
Public Defender Dan Bryant said he believed Barnes’ actions were due in part to a lack of maturity.
“I feel that his idea of getting involved in the drug scene was to gain popularity,” Bryant said in his letter. “I feel that Jacob needs another chance and if given the chance, he will turn his life around and make his family and friends proud because I know he has the potential to do so.”
However, Assistant District Attorney Paul Newman maintained Barnes’ actions posed a great threat to his neighbors given the explosive nature of meth manufacturing. Newman also noted firemen were placed at risk in fighting the blaze sparked by the lab.
“He chose to make the drug business his friend,” Newman said.
A request by defense attorney Jack Mitchell for probation was denied, with Judge Ash pointing out Barnes imported the meth business to the Murfreesboro area. Barnes’ lab was one of three discovered in Murfreesboro within a 24-hour period, most of which were operated by Warren County residents.
“He was a drug dealer, manufacturing methamphetamine in this community and providing it,” Judge Ash said in passing sentence.
Barnes will be allowed to participate in the prison’s boot camp program which could reduce the amount of time he must serve if he successfully completes the program.
(Lisa Marchesoni of the Daily News Journal contributed to this story.)